The Reason behind the Placement of Billboards

Billboards are everywhere, and you’ve likely seen hundreds without even trying. There’s a billboard in every state in America, from Oklahoma to New York, and you’ve probably noticed a certain pattern about them, particularly in their placement. We’ve all wondered at some point why billboards are placed where they are. For this reason, here is a quick rundown and elaboration on why billboards are placed where they are.

Eye catching

Everything about the design and placement of a billboard is meant to catch your eye for a few precious moments. Sure, billboards are typically placed on the road, but not just in any old place, at least not the ones you noticed for more than a half-nanosecond. Billboards that get noticed are typically placed on the side of the road at the exact moment when you would be looking at that side of the road. The billboard is now an inescapable part of your peripheral vision.

Not distracting

Obscuring road signs from the sight of drivers is a federal offence, so any billboard put on the road has to be careful to make sure that the driver can see them, but not at the cost of a sign that could potentially have the road they’re looking for. Advertisers also have to be careful not to put anything too distracting on the board itself. Years back, Wonderbra got in trouble for their “Hello boys” series of ads, which distracted drivers so much that minor and even major vehicular accidents happened wherever the ad was placed. In short, a billboard must be eye catching, but not to the point where it’s deemed too much trouble than its worth.

Lingering

How far and how close a billboard is to you when you drive down the road is an art unto itself. The billboard has to be just close enough to be seen and read, but far away enough that it doesn’t obscure anything important. It also needs to be angled at just the right position to ensure that no matter when the driver notices it, as long as he hasn’t passed it yet, he can still read what’s on the billboard. This is especially important for billboards that display the company’s contact information, like phone numbers or email addresses.

Billboards are rarely, if ever, put in just any random old place on the road. There is careful, specialized research put into this, based on almost two centuries of experience in this particular field of advertising. The next time you’re driving down the road and see a billboard, take a second to appreciate the marketing craftsmanship that went into it.